Minnesota midfielder Miguel Ibarra (10) leaps into the air to celebrate his goal against Montreal in the second half of a MLS game at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Saturday, May 26 2018. Minnesota beat Montreal, 2-0. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

On a sweltering Saturday night, the heat was clearly on Minnesota United through the first half at TCF Bank Stadium. After not mustering a shot on goal in the opening 45 minutes, which allowed a mired Montreal side to hang around, coach Adrian Heath lit up his players at a first-half water break added to beat the 90-degree temperatures and again at halftime.

“There were probably a few words you wouldn’t wish to repeat,” he said.

Early in the second half, Minnesota broke free en route to a 2-0 win, with goals from Christian Ramirez and
Minnesota goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth (33) blocks a Montreal shot in the first half of a MLS game at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Saturday, May 26 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Miguel Ibarra — the best-friend duo with superhero nicknames of Superman and Batman. Ramirez’s goals, though, was more of an everyman Clark Kent variety, while Ibarra’s had some preternatural elements.

In the 52nd minute, Ibson intercepted a Montreal pass and fed Christian Ramirez, whose shot deflected off Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush and trickled over the goal line. Six minutes later, Ibarra chipped a left-footed, 22-yard shot that curled over an outstretched Bush and into the corner of the net to double the lead.

Minnesota (5-7-1) snapped a three-game winless streak, scored more than one goal for the first time in about a month and kept pace in a crowded field for the last Western Conference playoff spots.

Already near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, Montreal (3-10) has now lost eight of nine games, have an MLS-worst minus-15 goal differential and haven’t scored in 382 minutes. Not putting this team out of its misery early contributed to Heath’s fire over the first half.

“I thought the first 25 minutes were as bad as we’ve played all season,” Heath said. “I thought we were lackluster, lack of energy, lack of desire. Whatever adjective you care to use, we were probably that.”

Ramirez added, “I think we were killing ourselves. Whenever we won it in a good spot, we would rush that first pass and not collect it. Once we fixed that, we found our tempo and things changed. So I think with this weather, we started to let that affect us.”

Heath pointed to Saturday night, the end of a stretch of five home games in a six-game stretch when the number of home and away games evened out, as the best point to gauge where the Loons stood. With that stretch complete, the Loons went 3-2-1 overall, including 3-1-1 at home. They have won one more game than they did at this point in 2017.

“We are better than we were,” Heath said. “We still have a long, long way to go to be where I want us to be. We still need quality added to the group, so hopefully when the next (transfer) window comes around, we can add another couple of pieces.”

Heath looked at this horizon once the Loons returned to Minnesota after a 3-1 loss at Seattle on April 22 that pushed their goals-allowed pace to 73 this season. That was alarmingly higher than their MLS-worst record of 70 set in their expansion campaign in 2017. Now after this six-game run, which included two shutout wins, Minnesota has shrunk the pace to a more respectable 62.3 goals this season.

Andy Greder covers the Gophers and Minnesota United for the Pioneer Press. Since joining the paper full time in November 2013, he has also covered the Timberwolves as a beat and spot duty from the Vikings to high schools. He was a part-time breaking news reporter at the Pioneer Press from 2011-13, when he was also a freelance writer and organic farmer. He started at the Duluth News Tribune in 2006, covering sports, news and business until living abroad in 2010.

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